How Much Money Can You Make On Twitch

Want to know how much your favorite Twitch streamer makes from broadcasting video games? Or maybe you want to know how much YOU can make as a smaller streamer? What is your earning potential when joining the platform?

In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the salaries of Twitch streamers. We'll look into each tier of streamer from small streamers with less than 100 viewers to streamers with 1000 average viewers to top-tier streamers like xQc, Ludwig, and NickMercs.

We'll look into what Twitch streamers make from subscribers, donations, bits, advertisements, sponsorships, and even outside platforms such as YouTube where they can earn extra money through Advertisements, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing.

We'll also cover some of the top-tier broadcasters in the industry and look at exactly how much they make from Twitch.

You can use the navigation below to quickly navigate through this article and find the answer you're looking for.

In this article you'll learn:

How much do small Twitch streamers make? [VIEW ANSWER]
How much do big Twitch streamers make? [VIEW ANSWER]
How much do top-tier Twitch streamers make? [VIEW ANSWER]
How do Twitch streamers make money?

How much do small Twitch streamers make?

Small streamers make anywhere from $50 to $1500 per month depending on the number of average viewers that they have.

A small streamer with 10 average viewers can expect to see around $50 per month on average while a streamer with 100 average viewers can expect up to $1500 per month.

Below is a chart of the average earnings of small Twitch streamers based on their average viewers. Keep in mind that the amount is based on subscribers, bits, and advertisements, it does not include income from other sources such as YouTube and sponsorships.

Amount of viewers	Earnings
5 – 10 average viewers	$50 – $200 per month
20 average viewers	$200 – $400 per month
50 average viewers	$500 – $750 per month
100 average viewers	$1000 – $1500 per month

If you want to learn how much REALLY small streamers (with less than 20 viewers) make, here are a couple of micro streamers that have revealed their early earnings from Twitch.

Below is a video of a small streamer named QuirkyPixel who revealed how much she makes on Twitch with 5 average viewers.

In this video, QuirkyPixel reveals that she made $64.81 in 30 days as a small streamer. During this time, she had 5 average viewers and received 26 subscribers.

The majority of the money she received came from subscribers ($57.55) with a very minimal amount from advertisements ($0.79) and $6.47 from bit donations.

In a similar video, small streamer Doro44 also revealed just how much he made from Twitch in a single month. The amount was $211 for 10 average viewers.

In yet another video, small streamer poggachu revealed that he made $484 in a 30-day period from 17 average viewers. He does mention that $315 was made from bit donations, leaving $169 from subscribers and ads.

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How much do big streamers make on Twitch?

Big streamers make anywhere from $5000 to $30,000 per month depending on the number of average viewers they have.

Below is a chart of how much the average big streamer makes depending on the number of average viewers they have.

Amount of viewers	Earnings
1000 average viewers	$5000 per month
5000 average viewers	$13,000 per month
10000 average viewers	$30,000 per month

Here are some examples of big Twitch streamers ranging from 1000 to 10,000 average viewers and how much they make.

Ezekiel_III

Ezekiel_III is a Twitch streamer who makes an estimated $5,000 USD per month from Twitch.

For example streamer Ezekiel_III averages 1200 viewers per stream and has 1300 subscribers according to Twitch tracker. This would give him around $3,250 per month in subscribers alone or around $5000 if we add possible donations and advertisements.

Fuslie

Fuslie is a big streamer who makes $20,000 USD per month from Twitch.

Fuslie consistently streams to over 9000 people and has around 7000 subscribers on average, this brings her in about $20,000 every month. Her monthly income is not just limited to Twitch though and also earns money from YouTube, Sponsorships and merch as well.

Through her YouTube channel, Fuslie brings in an additional $10,500 every month.

Hafu

Hafu is a big streamer who makes $13,000 USD per month from Twitch.

Hafu streams to around 7000 people every time she goes online, this brings her in about $13,000 per month from Twitch alone. On top of that she makes an additional $8,700 from her YouTube channel and she earns money through merch and sponsorships as well.

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How much do top-tier Twitch streamers make?

Top-tier streamers make anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 per month from Twitch depending on the number of average monthly subscribers they have.

The absolute top of Twitch makes a lot of money, these streamers, due to their status, earn an extra $1 per subscriber meaning they make $3.50 per sub compared to $2.50 per sub.

We've done net worth profiles of some of the top streamers on Twitch, here's what we've found in our research.

xQc (Felix Lengyel)

xQc is a top-tier streamer who makes $260,000 USD per month from Twitch.

xQc has seen a massive surge in popularity in the last couple of years. He streams almost every single day to over 100,000 people, doing this makes him A LOT of money in subscribers, advertisements, and donations.

But that's not where it ends, xQc has a popular YouTube channel as well that brings in an additional $144,000 per month. Adding in sponsorships and merch, we estimate that xQc likely makes at least $500,000 every single month.

We see similar results when looking at other top tier streamers.

NickMercs

NickMercs is a top-tier streamer who makes $235,000 USD per month from Twitch.

NickMercs also makes up the top of Twitch and consistently streams to over 40,000 viewers. This generates him $235,000 through subscribers, donations and advertisements. Beyond that, he makes $90,000 from posting highlights to his YouTube channel and likely makes quite a bit from sponsorships and merch as well.

Ludwig Ahgren

Ludwig is a top-tier streamer who makes $180,000 USD per month from Twitch.

Our next guy is Ludwig who is a newer streamer at the top of Twitch. Ludwig has seen a huge surge in popularity in 2020 and since his subathon has catapulted himself to the top of Twitch.

Ludwig streams consistently to over 15,000 people and generates $180,000 per month from Twitch. Beyond that, he makes an extra $84,000 from uploading YouTube videos and also has a popular merch line 'Mogul Moves' and income from sponsorships.

Here's a little sum up of the top 5 streamers on Twitch right now:

Twitch Streamer	Average monthly subscribers	How much they make from Twitch
Ludwig	50,000	$180,000 USD
xQc	60,000	$260,000 USD
NickMercs	62,000	$235,000 USD
RanbooLive	64,000	$224,000 USD
Summit1G	32,000	$112,000 USD

Of course, these figures once again do not include any of the income made off-Twitch. Since at the top-tier level, these Twitch streamers make SO much money from alternatives sources such as Youtube, it would be unfair not to include their estimated income from these sources.

Below is a chart revealing how much top-tier streamers make from their YouTube channels.

Youtube Channel	Average monthly views	How much they make from Youtube
Ludwig	28,000,000	$84,000 USD
xQc	48,000,000	$144,000 USD
NickMercs	30,000,000	$90,000 USD
RanbooLive	5,000,000	$21,000 USD
Summit1G	1,500,000	$7,000 USD

As you can see, some of these top-tier streamers can expect an additional $10,000 to $150,000 per month from YouTube ad revenue.

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How do Twitch streamers make money?

Twitch streamers have a variety of ways to make money both on and off the platform.

Subscribers

One of the biggest chunks of the money Twitch streamers make come from subscribers. Subscribers are people who pay a certain monthly fee (usually $4.99) to gain access to extra content such as streamer emotes.

Subscribers come in 3 different tiers: tier 1: $4.99, tier 2: $9.99 and tier 3: $14.99.

Most Twitch partners receive 50% of the money generated from subscribers, Twitch takes the other half. So the average Twitch streamer, makes $2.50 from every subscriber, per month.

Top-tier streamers make 70% of the money generated from subscribers. Twitch will consider you a top-tier streamer once you consistently stream to over 10,000 viewers. At this point, top-tier streamers make $3.50 from every subscriber, per month.

Read also: How to get the 70/30 sub split on Twitch

Donations and bits

There are two types of donations on Twitch: Bit Donations and External Donations. Cash donations most commonly go through PayPal and don't involve Twitch at all.

Bits are a built-in way to donate money to your favorite streamer. 1 bit equals 1 cent for the streamer so if you cheer 100 bits, you basically donate 1 dollar to a streamer.

As donations are not consistent, and streamers do not reveal this data, it's hard to estimate how much a streamer makes from donations.

Read also: How to donate on Twitch

Every Twitch streamer (if they have affiliate/partner status) has access to an advertisement button. They can freely use this button however many times they so please. So if you ever watch a streamer and ads keep popping up, this is because the streamer keeps pressing that button.

Most streamers will have an advertisement before and after a stream, with maybe one or two ad breaks in between.

Twitch does not allow streamers to talk about how much they make from advertisements thus it is very hard to estimate how much the average streamer makes.

Sponsorships

Since Twitch streamers broadcast daily to hundreds and thousands of people, they can have a massive influence on that audience which makes them irresistible to sponsors.

Twitch streamers will often get sponsored by peripherals, for example, Shroud is sponsored by Logitech as we have covered in his streamer setup. He has his own branded mouse and keyboard with Logitech that he uses to play Valorant on stream.

Chair companies are also commonly sponsoring streamers, for example, Mavix chairs which sponsor top streamers such as Valkyrae and Sykkuno.

And lastly, Twitch streamers are often sponsored by games. For example Raids Shadow Legends and Genshin Impact are often sponsoring streamers to play their game in front of a live audience.

Merch

Many streamers have their own merch. Obviously, they make money from this as well.

For example, Ludwig has his popular Mogul Moves clothing store which is always sold out. Disguised Toast sells a disguised toast plushie on his merch store. RanbooLive has a merch store through Streamlabs which triggers an alert whenever someone makes a purchase.

Most popular streamers will have some sort of way you can support them through merchandise. Even smaller streamers often have merchandise listed in their bio.

Read also: How to sell merch on Twitch

Affiliate Marketing

Many streamers make an extra side-income through affiliate marketing. Most commonly, streamers make use of the Amazon Associates program. This way, streamers can list their streamer equipment in their Twitch bio and earn a commission when a viewer makes a purchase through their link on Amazon.

What makes Amazon so great for streamers is that viewers often want to know exactly what gear they use, through Amazon Associates, streamers can make a small profit while informing their viewers.

Oftentimes, Twitch streamers will use the Amazon Black Smith widget which allows them to list their gear in their Twitch bio.

YouTube

Most streamers make a living beyond Twitch as well. For example, they can list highlights to their YouTube channel and generate income through advertisements.

Big examples of this are Ludwig, who according to social blade, has 26,000,000 monthly viewers on YouTube, good for an extra $120,000 in advertisement revenue.

Or Diguised Toast, who according to his social blade stats, has 44,000,000 monthly viewers on YouTube, good for an extra $190,000 in revenue from ads.

Subscription-Based Services

While Twitch can be considered a subscription-based service already, some Twitch streamers generate extra cash through other subscription-based services such as Patreon and Onlyfans.

These subscription-based services allow viewers to get access to exclusive content from a streamer. In the case of Patreon, this can be anything from exclusive art to

Examples of this are Amouranth who runs a popular Onlyfans account and

Final thoughts

Clearly, Twitch streamers make good money. Even smaller streamers start making a decent amount of money once they reach over 50 consistent viewers. At around 100+ viewers you can even consider going full-time and make a decent living from Twitch and other platforms using your audience.

Once a streamer reaches around 1000+ they started making some serious money with numbers ranging between $5000 up to $30,000 per month from Twitch alone.

Top tier streamers, the Ludwig and xQc's of the world make over $200,000 per month from Twitch and YouTube.

If you had any doubts about whether streamers make money, hopefully, this article cleared that up for you. I'll finish this article by answering some of the most frequently asked questions about making money on Twitch.

Frequently asked questions

How much do Twitch streamers make from subscribers?

Twitch streamers keep 50% of their subscriber revenue. So tier 1 subscriptions which cost $4.99 leave $2.50 for the streamer.

Top-tier Twitch streamers with over 10,000 consistent viewers keep 70% of their subscriber revenue. So tier 1 subscriptions leave them $3.50 per subscriber.

How much do Twitch streamers make per prime sub?

Twitch streamers earn the same amount from prime subs that they would from regular or gifted subs: 50% or $2.50 per subscriber.

How much do Twitch affiliates make per subscriber?

Just like Twitch partners, Twitch affiliates make $2.50 or 50% of the revenue from each subscriber.

How much do Twitch streamers make per viewer?

On average, Twitch streamers earn about $3 for every consistent viewer they have. So someone with 10,000 average viewers, can expect to make around $30,000 from Twitch.

How much do Twitch streamers make per bit?

Twitch streamers make 1 cent for every bit they receive. So if you donate 100 bits to a streamer, they will get 1 dollar.

How much do Twitch streamers make per ad?

Twitch streamers are not allowed to reveal how much they make from advertising. It is estimated that Twitch streamers make $20 for every 1000 viewers. Meaning a streamer with 10,000 average viewers can make $200 from a single stream.

Can you make a living on Twitch?

As this article clearly indicates, you can make a living on Twitch once you reach over 100 average viewers. At this point, you'll make around $1000 – $1500 from Twitch and you can make an additional $1000 – $2000 from alternate sources such as YouTube, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, merch, and Patreon.

When can I expect to start making money on Twitch?

You'll start making money on Twitch as soon as you reach affiliate status. This process takes weeks for some and months for others. On average, small Twitch streamers don't really start making money until they have completed at least 6 months of consistent streaming.

When do Twitch payouts happen?

Twitch pays their affiliates and partners 15 days after the end of the month. There is also a minimum $100 threshold for payouts.

Can you make money on Twitch without being a partner?

You don't have to be a Twitch partner to make money on Twitch. Twitch affiliates make money as well and there are many other ways to monetize your viewership. In a separate article we cover exactly how you can make money without being a Twitch partner.

How old do you have to be to make money on Twitch? When do Twitch payouts happen?

According to the Twitch Affiliate agreement, you have to be at least 13 years old to make money on Twitch. Twitch affiliates aged 13-18 are required to be supervised by a parent or legal guardian.